Chalkbeat, an independent news organization that covers local education, has launched a Detroit bureau, its fifth.

Co-founder, CEO and Chief Editor Elizabeth Green announced in a letter Monday that Erin Einhorn and Julie Topping, currently the only staff members, will lead the new operations in Detroit.

With a mission to focus on improving low-income and at-risk school districts schools, the publication also covers Colorado, Indiana, New York, and Tennessee.

Einhorn and Topping plan to cover Detroit Public Schools with the same interest in mind: to help families find good schools for their children.

Einhorn, who grew up in metro Detroit, is senior Detroit correspondent and will report on Detroit schools, including those in the Education Achievement Authority district. She moved back to Detroit in 2014 after serving as deputy managing editor for politics at the New York Daily News, where she covered New York City schools.

The mother of two said she was inspired to launch the site in Detroit after experiencing the difficulties of finding a good school to send her kids.

"We're trying not to repeat what the (Detroit) Free Press and (The Detroit) News are doing," she said. "Our goal is to go deeper on policy and offer a different angle or something else to think about. The idea is to do deep-dive policy stories and really elevate parents' and teachers' voices and bring the human stories behind the news."

Topping, a native of Toledo, retired in October after a 30-year career with the Detroit Free Press. She most recently served as senior director of content strategy in charge of daily operations for numerous assignments including education. Topping said that in 1994, like Einhorn, she had a hard time finding a good school for her then 4-year-old son.

"Personally, I'm just looking forward to working on one thing and working closely with reporters and focusing on Detroit schools," she said. "One of the biggest issues — and I'm going to count charters and private schools — is the lack of consistency and collaboration. I think it hurts the schools of Detroit and Wayne County."

Einhorn had been editor of Chalkbeat Indiana. Topping is now editor of both Chalkbeat Indiana and Detroit.

Einhorn said their goal is to be a watchdog for schools. "We don't take sides on the school wars," she said. "Our goal is to elevate quality in education and to call out things that aren't working. We are neutral on charter versus public schools."

Chalkbeat is funded by more than 40 foundations, including The Skillman Foundation and The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Correction: The original version of this report gave an incorrect role for Einhorn. This version is correct and includes new information.